PLAY IN NA­TURE’S ART GALLERY

The best way to take in the full whoa-fac­tor of Pic­tured Rocks Na­tional Lakeshore: from the wa­ter. Kayak tours put things in per­spec­tive, with guides that lead pad­dlers un­der rocky over­hangs and along a 200-foot bluff that bows out like a gi­ant band shell. Glass-bot­tom boat tours al­low vis­i­tors to spot ship­wrecks from over 100 years ago.

WAN­DER FALLS

Chase 17 water­falls in the area. Within Pic­tured Rocks, a 1/2-mile trail leads to 50-foot Min­ers Falls, the park’s most pow­er­ful wa­ter­fall. Spray Falls lives up to its name with a misty shower that hits kayak­ers and boaters as the 70foot falls plunge off a cliff and into Lake Su­pe­rior. In town, spring-fed Horse­shoe Falls drops 20 feet be­fore rush­ing over a se­ries of cas­cades.

FROZEN WON­DER­LAND

Hun­dreds of miles of snow­mo­bile trails branch out from town, many lead­ing right to lodg­ing and din­ing des­ti­na­tions, such as Buck­horn Re­sort. A trail also leads di­rectly to the iconic Min­ers Cas­tle for­ma­tion at Pic­tured Rocks, where you may spot ice climbers scal­ing its 40-foot col­umn. The lakeshore also hosts the Mid­west’s largest ice-climb­ing fes­ti­val, Michi­gan Ice Fest, from Fe­bru­ary 13–17 this year.

CRAFTED WITH LOVE

Dine among thou­sands of books lin­ing the shelves at Fall­ing Rock Cafe and Book­store, serv­ing lo­cal spe­cial­ties, such as smoked white­fish, plus gluten-free and ve­gan op­tions. Hearty pasties with flaky crusts, ten­der beef and a med­ley of veg­gies await in the pas­tel yel­low home of Mul­doons Pasties. Don’t miss the gift shop sell­ing unique Up­per Penin­sula sou­venirs and home­made fudge.